Covington running for 24th House District seat, considers himself ‘mentor’ to Black male youth

MARTELL COVINGTON, 34, is currently a legislative aide to state Sen. Jay Costa. After a special election on April 5, he hopes to be state representative for House District 24, formerly occupied by Ed Gainey, who is now mayor of Pittsburgh.

 Special election set for April 5

Now 34 years old, Martell Covington, Homewood born-and-raised, remembers as a kid Valerie McDonald Roberts canvassing Homewood Avenue, passing out information-filled pamphlets.

As a kid, Covington remembers being in the car, being driven down Larimer Avenue and in East Liberty, seeing former state Rep. Joseph Preston’s office.

Covington was the kid who knew the names of U.S. presidents, vice presidents, Pennsylvania governors. Serving people in the political arena is “always been something that’s piqued my interest even as a kid,” he told the New Pittsburgh Courier, Jan. 24.

Well, Covington is all grown up now, backed with more than a decade of listening to people’s concerns and coming up with solutions. The legislative aide to state Sen. Jay Costa of the 43rd District in Allegheny County and former jack-of-all-trades at the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood has officially announced his candidacy for the state House’s 24th District, formerly occupied by current Pittsburgh mayor Ed Gainey.

“The year 2020 was definitely a life-changing year for me,” Covington said. “I lost some loved ones to COVID-19 and to gun violence, and just during the time to shelter-in-place and still work from home, I reflected a lot and I realized, I have to do more to impact the community, do more to make change, do more for the people that are no longer here.”

Covington is a 2005 Central Catholic High School graduate. He then attended Howard University, in Washington, D.C., earning a degree in business administration in 2010. Covington returned to Pittsburgh to work at Community Empowerment Association, headed by Rashad Byrdsong. He worked in a number of positions there, initially in event management. He was instrumental in the planning of the Pittsburgh Black Family Reunion festival for 12 years, including the four years he attended Howard, working on it during the summer months. Covington then worked with CEA’s truancy prevention arm and managed CEA’s African American Leadership Institute. He also managed CEA’s after-school program and summer camp in Homewood. These programs gave Covington a front door to Black youth and families in Homewood and other areas. Covington told the Courier he is built for being a positive role model for the younger generation, as he’s also the Vice President for the Young Democrats of Allegheny County and football/softball coach for Homewood Community Sports.

MARTELL COVINGTON graduated from Howard University in 2010.

“I feel like young people from where I’m from, areas like Homewood, need to see a young person that’s taking a brave step and doing something like running for state representative,” Covington said. “Young people have to see it in for them to do and be it, and I want to be somebody that young people can see.”

Covington was once that young person, watching McDonald Roberts become Pittsburgh’s first Black woman to be elected to City Council in 1994. He watched as people would visit Rep. Preston’s office, the African American legislator who served for almost 30 years as House District 24 representative.

Covington knew he wanted to run for political office in 2020, but didn’t know an opportunity would open so quickly. Gainey felt it was his time to lead the 300,000 residents of Pittsburgh, and announced he would run for mayor in January 2021. When Gainey won the Democratic primary election in May 2021, the thought of Gainey finishing the job in the November 2021 general election and thus relinquishing his state House seat had those like Covington imagining themselves in that seat.

 “I knew I was going to serve, but the opportunity presented itself sooner than I expected,” Covington told the Courier exclusively. “But a lot of times, that’s how things happen. It doesn’t really happen on our plans. God’s plans are different than our plans and the timeline is different sometimes. We’re ready for this time right now.”

Covington said he’s learned the art of listening to others, which he feels makes him the best candidate for the position. The special election will take place April 5, as NaTisha Washington, La’Tasha Mayes and Randall Taylor are among the other candidates.

MARTELL COVINGTON was a New Pittsburgh Courier “Fab 40” honoree in 2019.

“A lot of times, elected (officials) usually tell people what they need, or tell people what they should be focused on and not taking the time to listen,” Covington said. “I think, through my job at CEA, I’ve been a listener, whether I was listening to parents that were frustrated about life and things that were happening with the school…even with Sen. Costa’s office, part of the job sometimes is sitting on the phone with a constituent and letting them kind of burn your ear about an issue that may or may not be directly impacted by your office, but you’re there and you’re accessible, and you’re willing to listen to them. And the constituents appreciate that.”

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